Interview Exclusive!
Interview with Michael!
Michael Meggoe is a household name in the creative space in general; particularly poetry. His phenomenal writing style has garnered him serious critical acclaim. He is a published author of great books like: Tears, Wildflower, and the Psalms of Michael. .
Michael is an official member of the most prestigious writers club in the world, "The Collab Tour" and undoubtedly, his career is destined for the top.
Interview Excerpts below:
1. Tell us about your background?
Thank you—it is an honor to be a part of Poet's Digest, an increasingly great platform.
I am a Jamaican poet whose work is shaped by the rhythms of place, memory, and lived experience, I write from a landscape where language is never quiet. My background moves between rivers, roads, and everyday encounters, and I also work around bamboo rafting, where close contact with water informs my sense of movement, patience, and flow in writing.
I am the self-published author of three books: Wildflower, Tears, and The Psalms of Michael.
My poetry often works in fragments and cadence-sometimes biblical in tone, sometimes broken—reflecting thought as it arrives: incomplete, yet gradually gathering weight.
Alongside writing, I am a pianist, composer, and visual artist, with interests in music production, drawing, and painting. An avid reader since childhood, I draw inspiration from literature, film, sport, and everyday life. My work is grounded in imagery, rhythm, and reflection, and I maintain a spiritual foundation rooted in Christianity.
2.How did poetry all begin for you?
Poetry began for me in attention before it ever became writing. It started in the places I moved through-river water, roads, everyday encounters.
I would surprise myself with things I said in conversation, words that seemed to appear uninvited in my mind, and an early obsession with language learning new words, reading widely. I began noticing these nuances as early as primary school.
I didn't set out to write poetry at first; I was simply trying to hold onto moments that kept slipping away in plain speech. Over time, I noticed I was thinking in images, rhythm, and fragments. That was when I understood I wasn't just describing experience anymore, I was shaping it.
At first, I didn't even know I was a poet. I thought I was a short story writer. It was only later, in college, when I began to consciously identify my work as poetry and read more deeply into the form, that I realized what I was doing already belonged there. The more I read, the more drawn I became to it. I remember the first poem I read in college G-9 by Tim Dlugosand how it opened something in me. It deepened my awareness of poetry as a space I could inhabit, and it pushed me to write more seriously and begin seeing poetry as a possible path.
3. What is your writing process like?
My writing begins in observation and feeling, often on walks, noticing objects, trees, and the rhythm of everyday life. Conversations, lines from songs, films, or things I've read tend to linger and echo in my mind.
Sometimes a single word appears, and I explore its sound and rhythm, letting language guide thought.
I usually start in fragments rather than structure, collecting images, sensations, and lines in a notebook I carry everywhere. Sometimes a poem comes in one sitting; other times it develops slowly, sitting for a while before I return to it. I pay close attention to theme and diction, and revision, for me, is a process of listening-allowing the piece to clarify what it is already trying to say.
Influence also shapes my process. Artists like Eminem taught me intensity, fearlessness, and the power of unfiltered language, which gave me permission to be honest and raw in my own work. I also hold onto advice I once heard in a film: just write, even when it doesn't make sense, because clarity can come later in revision.
I don't force writing. I prefer to let ideas find me, arriving in those sudden moments of recognition, almost like a eureka moment.
4. Do you usually have personal connections with your poems?
Yes, but not every poem. Some of my poems come from direct personal experience, but others are more vicarious or imagined. I'm often influenced by the experiences of other people, as well as things I've read
—other poems, stories, and different forms of literature I engage with.
Being a highly creative poet, I don't limit myself to lived experience alone. I see poetry as something that can move through imagination, empathy, and observation as much as personal memory.
5. Tell us about your favorite poets and what you like about their writing style.
My favorite poets are quite varied and I'm drawn to different qualities in each of them.
Ocean Vuong is one of the poets I feel closest to stylistically. I admire his unpredictability, fragmentation, and strong use of imagination, as well as his intense and often dark imagery. His work moves in ways that feel intuitive rather than linear, which resonates with how I approach writing.
I also return to Shakespeare for his command of language and emotional range. Even within structured forms, there is a deep sense of movement and human complexity in his work.
Ted Hughes stands out for his vivid imagination and the flow of his language, especially his use of alliteration and sonic intensity.
Dylan Thomas, similarly, inspires me through his rhythm and rich metaphors, and the musicality he brings to language.
James Joyce influences me through his experimentation with language, interiority, and fragmentation of thought. I admire the way he bends structure to reflect the complexity of consciousness.
William Wordsworth influences me more in terms of reflection and attention to nature and inner thought.
Sylvia Plath draws me in through her emotional precision, intensity, and sharp clarity of imagery.
Paul Celan, for me, represents the power of compressed, difficult language poetry that carries weight in silence, fragmentation, and what is left unsaid.
6. You have quite the International fanbase online, especially Instagram... How does it feel to know that people all over the world read and resonate with your writing
It's honestly quite grounding and humbling. I don't really think of it in terms of a "fanbase" while I'm writing, so it still feels surprising at times to realize the work is reaching people in different parts of the world.
Especially since that wasn't my initial intention when I first shared my writing online-it was simply to put myself out there, share my work with friends, and begin building a kind of personal legacy.
What stays with me most is not the scale of it, but the fact that something I've written in a very specific personal or local context can still connect with someone I've never met in a completely different place.
That kind of resonance reminds me that emotion, language, and experience can travel beyond geography.
At the same time, it doesn't really change how I write. If anything, it makes me more intentional and honest with the work, because I understand that once it leaves me, it belongs to whoever reads it and how they choose to receive it.
7. What would fans be most surprised to learn about you
Outside of writing, I'm quite grounded in simple things. Walking, reflecting, music, and just observing life. The work is shaped by that more than anything else. I also play football, I play piano, and I draw.
These creative and physical outlets keep me balanced and feed into how I see the world, even when I'm not actively writing.
I am also quite camera and stage shy, so I tend to be more comfortable expressing myself through writing than through performance or being in front of an audience.
8.Other hobbies you love outside of writing and poetry
Outside of writing and poetry, I keep a balance through a mix of creative and physical activities. I play football, exercise, and enjoy board games, which keep me active and grounded. I also play piano and draw, both of which give me other ways of working with rhythm, emotion, and imagery.
In my quieter time, I enjoy walking, listening to music, watching films and content online, and just observing my surroundings. I also read widely-books, articles, and anything that sparks curiosity. I also like looking at other people's artwork online, which often inspires new ideas.
All of these feed back into my creative work in different ways.
9. Are any of your poems based on real life experiences or do you just tap into your imagination
Yes both, and I don't separate them strictly.
Some of my poems come from real-life experiences-things I've lived through, conversations, places, and emotions. Even then, I'm more interested in capturing the feeling of a moment than documenting it exactly as it happened.
Others come from imagination, observation, or influence from what I've read and experienced through others. I often start with something external and shape it until it feels emotionally true.
Some of these approaches can be seen in my book " Tears". For me, what matters most is emotional truth rather than whether something is strictly real or imagined.
10. What was growing up like for you and what has the impact of family been like for you and how have they all perceived your talents as a world class poet.
Growing up was a mixture of fun and quiet church, football, drawing, reading, school, and friends all shaped that experience. I was also self-driven, and from an early age I read on my own, which helped build my curiosity and imagination.
My family provided a stable foundation and strong values. My parents were both Christians, and that grounding shaped me early on. My stepfather was very curious and experimental, and his mini library and love for books were early influences on me.
My siblings supported my creativity, and my mom especially encouraged my artistic side. Overall, they've been very supportive and continue to make me proud of the work I've put out.
Jamaica's culture, which values and celebrates the arts, also gave me the right environment to grow creatively.
11. Some sources whispered to us that you are currently working on a special project.please go into detail about this.
Always expect the unexpected with me. I am always writing and experimenting.
There is something I'm currently working on, but I prefer not to share full details yet.
What I can say is that I'm planning more books, and my next one explores intense romance and the erotic dimensions of love, expanding the emotional range of my earlier work as part of an ongoing evolution.
12. What does literary success mean to you.
Literary success, for me, is not just about recognition or numbers. It's about impact-whether the work resonates with someone deeply enough that they see their own life or emotions reflected in it.
It also means growth as a writer: constantly evolving, refining my voice, and being honest in how I use language. A part of that is also getting my work to a publishable standard recognized by magazines and literary spaces.
If I can stay true to that process while reaching readers in a meaningful and authentic way, then that is success to me.
13. Would you Consider yourself a person of faith?
Yes, I would consider myself a person of faith.
I grew up with faith as part of my foundation, and it has stayed with me as a grounding force in my life. It shapes my values, discipline, and how I move through the world.
Even as I grow creatively and explore different ideas in my writing, that foundation is still there in the background quiet, but present in how I understand purpose and perspective.
14. Give us a brief insight on your published poetry books.
My published poetry spans three books: "Tears", "Wildflower", and " The Psalms of Michael".
Tears is a collection of my earlier works written during a very intense period of my life. It reflects my experience with chronic illness, the trauma that followed, as well as heartbreak and the loss of loved ones. It carries a lot of emotional weight from that season. I am most proud of Tears because I formatted the book myself, except for the cover redesign it later underwent. My two later books were designed with the help of book designer Deniece McKessey.
Wildflower came after Tears and is a book of blazon poems focused on admiration and love for the female form and feminine presence. I wanted to show a different side of my writing with it and create balance in relation to the heavier themes of Tears.
The Psalms of Michael is my most faith-centered work. It is influenced by my relationship with Christianity and my reading of the Psalms in the Bible, which inspired many of the poems. It serves as both an expression of faith and an ode to God, with prayer-like, psalmic poems throughout.
All three of my books are available on Amazon stores.
Publishing these books has been one of the greatest achievements of my poetic journey so far. My aim is to continue building my presence, gain wider recognition, and make my poetry more widely available in physical collections and published formats.
15. Your parting words to aspiring poets worldwide.
Write without fear. Think intensely, and value your poetry.
Be authentic in your writing.
The poetry world can be tough, but don't give up. Stay committed even when things feel uncertain or slow. Keep writing.
Always seek ways to grow and improve-there are always higher levels to reach. Most importantly-don't rush the process. Be patient with your development, and let your voice evolve naturally over time.
Sarah Wills
Editor.